Air safety risk warnings weighed

The International Civil Aviation Organisation will hold a special high-level meeting on Tuesday to discuss appropriate actions that could be pursued to more effectively mitigate potential risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones in the wake of the MH17 crash over eastern Ukraine.

The meeting led by the United Nations body, to be held in Montreal, will include the director generals of the International Air Transport Association, the Airports Council International and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation.

The gathering comes amid calls from aviation safety experts for a better system of designating when airspace is safe for commercial aircraft in conflict zones.

Ron Bartsch, a former Qantas Airways safety head who now serves as the chairman of AvLaw International, last week suggested IATA be charged with rating the risk created by conflict zones using a similar categorisation to cyclones.

In the case of MH17, Ukraine had insisted its airspace was safe above 32,000 feet, but the flight was shot down by a surface-to-air missile while flying at 33,000 feet. The cash-strapped Ukrainian government was receiving lucrative “overflight fees" for aircraft flying over its territory and industry sources say it therefore had a financial incentive to keep its airspace open as long as possible.

ICAO last week issued a letter reminding member states of their responsibilities with respect to the safety and security of civil aircraft operating in conflict zones.

“ICAO has decided to issue this State Letter in response to some confusion which has arisen over these provisions and the responsibilities which they specify," said the ICAO council president, Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. “We felt it prudent to ensure greater clarity and consistency with our Member States and Recognized Observer organizations on the international framework which applies, notably as these matters continue to be raised in public discussions following MH17’s tragic loss."

The US Federal Aviation Administration last week temporarily banned American carriers from flying in and out of Tel Aviv after a rocket landed near the airport. Most European carriers also stopped flying there temporarily following a warning from their regulator, but British Airways decided not to cancel its flights, and Israeli national carrier El Al Airlines also kept flying.

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In the case of MH17, British Airways and Air France had avoided eastern Ukraine’s airspace prior to the incident, but most carriers, including Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Emirates and Etihad Airways had continued flying in the region.